As he and his cast mates mark a “Hannah Montana” milestone, actor Jason Earles is opening up about his audition process for the Disney Channel series.

Appearing on “Best of Both Our Worlds: The Official, Unofficial Hannah Montana Podcast” last week, Earles shared the “big secret” he’d initially kept from Disney executives before he landed the role of Jackson Stuart, the older brother of Miley Cyrus’ character, Miley Stewart, in 2005.

“I was desperately afraid that I was going to be fired and recast ... when I auditioned for the show, I lied to them and told them I was 18 years old,” recalled the actor, who was actually 28 at the time of his audition. “It was another reason I almost didn’t audition for the show because I was like, ‘I’m too old. The character’s 16, nobody’s going to buy it.’”

Earles said his concerns were heightened by the fact that he’d worked with the show’s casting director, Lisa London, on an earlier project, when he presented himself as being 19.

While the actor succeeded in convincing the “Hannah Montana” creative team that he was youthful enough for the part, his real age was eventually revealed midway through production on the show’s premiere season, which aired on Disney Channel in 2006.

“I remember one of the higher-up network executives showed up on show night, and he was like, ‘Hey, so, you’re 28.’ And I was like, ‘I am,’” Earles said.

Later, he would confirm to the exec that the “girl that I keep making out with” was his wife at the time, Jennifer.

“And he was like, ‘Uh, any more secrets? Anything we should know? Do you have any kids?’” the actor explained. “I was like, ‘No kids.’ He’s like, ‘Let’s go ahead and keep it that way for a few years.’ And I was like, ‘Absolutely, of course.’”

Elsewhere in the podcast chat, Earles said he chose to keep up the charade when he encountered “Hannah Montana” fans, even leaning into the assumption that Jennifer was his mother.

“I remember going to dinner with my wife at the time and people coming up and saying, ‘You must be so proud of your son,’” he quipped. “And I was like, ‘Well, all right. Sex is off the table tonight. Thank you. I appreciate that.’”

Earles, now 49, can be seen alongside Cyrus and other co-stars on the “Hannah Montana” 20th anniversary special, which hits Disney+ on Tuesday. He’s remained on good terms with Disney, too, appearing as camp director Dewey Wood on “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” in 2022 and 2023.

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